6 No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for Your Toddler
Temperatures are beginning to drop, leaves are starting to turn, and there is football on tv - that means it’s fall! I (Emily) love Halloween and all things fall. As soon as September 1st hits, my spooky decorations come out. Every year I look forward to our annual trip to see the Kalamazoo legend Gene the Pumpkin Man and carving pumpkins but with toddlers, that last part can be trickier. This year we decided to think of som eno carve pumpkin decorating ideas!
As a Mom of two, I cherish every holiday and the memories that we get to make, BUT things have become trickier as I try and manage two busy little ones. Plus, any activity that involves knives or sharp objects and toddlers is majorly anxiety-producing. This year Katie and I wanted to make sure out boys could get in on the fun without us having to worry about anyone losing a finger and we’ve brainstormed the cutest 6 no carve pumpkin decorating ideas for toddler! We had so much fun with these ideas we wanted to share them with you!
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No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas
There are so many ways to decorate pumpkins in a no carve way, but here are the six creative ideas we are sharing below:
Masking Tape Mummy
Spooky Stickers
Ghastly Googly Eyes
Scary Stained Glass
Paint Marker Pumpkin
Mr. Pumpkin Head
Masking Tape Mummy
This no carve pumpkin decorating technique is super simple, and can be done with something you probably already have lying around the house. All you need is a roll of white masking tape!
This technique is great for developing fine motor skills. You can rip strips of tape ahead of time and have your little one stick them to the pumpkin or you can give them the entire roll and let them go wild.
To make your Mummy even more fun try using colorful masking tape or adding googly eyes
Spooky Stickers
This is by far the most simple no-carve decorating technique. Grab some spooky Halloween stickers and let them decorate to their hearts desire.
Ghastly Googly Eyes
The finished product of this no carve pumpkin decoration was my favorite! I love the mix of silly and spooky that these googly eyes add to the pumpkin. These googly eyes are self adhesive, so you don't need any glue or tape to attach them, making it easy and low mess.
Scary Stained Glass
This scary stained glass technique requires the most prep work and supplies (most of which are probably already laying around your house) of any of our no carve pumpkin decorating ideas, but it's still simple to set up and easy to clean! For this project you will need:
- Paint Brush
- Tissue Paper - cut into 2" x 2" squares
- White Glue
I mixed my school glue with 2 tablespoons of water to make it easier to spread. Start by painting the entire pumpkin with the water/glue mixture, then start sticking the tissue paper squares all over the pumkpin. Once your design is finished, paint it with one more layer of the glue/water mixture and it's good to go!
Paint Marker Pumpkin
Looking for a "mess free" version of the old school technique of painting pumkins? Try using paint markers and let your little one come up with their own spooky design.
Mr. Pumpkin Head
If you don't have a Mr. Potato Head lying around from childhood this is your sign to get one! E got this for his second birthday and he LOVES playing with it. When I told him that we were going to make a Mr. Pumpkin Head he was so excited. His favorite part was getting to make a new silly face every day! Each morning after breakfast he would look at his pieces and decide which ones he would put on his pumpkin that day.
Note: this one requires a bit more parent assistance. If the pumpkin is too tough to push the pieces through, use a screwdriver to make the holes and then let your kids decorate!
We had way too much fun decorating pumpkins this year! We may have to update this list every year, just so we have an excuse to decorate 6 pumpkins! We hope that these no-carve, low mess techniques help you have fun with your kiddos without the stress of actually carving pumpkins.
Did we miss any great no carve pumpkin decorations? Did you try some of our ideas? Let us know in the comments.